In a portable terminal equipment, such as a portable telephone, and the like, provided are operation keys for rendering an user to operate the portable terminal equipment. As the operation keys, there are ten keys, function keys, direction keys, and pointing devices. The user conducts an input of a character, an execution of a function, or the like, by operating these operation keys.
In a case that the user inputs the character by the use of the operation keys, the user must push the ten keys down many times. This had been possibly giving stress to the user. Further, in a case that the user operates the operation keys by his one hand, a range in which his fingers of the one hand move becomes wide. This possibly makes the user have a feeling of difficulty or stress in his operation of the operation keys by one hand.
The patent reference 1 (Official gazette of unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-15811) discloses an input apparatus which has input keys 12 for inputting characters, which detects moving of a position pushed down and being pushed down in the input keys 12, and which can input a character in response to a result of detection of the moving of the position. In the input apparatus, if the input key 12 is pushed down, characters (for example,   and the like) representing groups of characters and numbers are displayed in response to a position where the input key 12 is pushed down. Thereafter, if the position where the input key 12 is pushed down is moved in a condition that the key is being pushed down, each character (for example,   included in the groups of characters and numbers is sequentially displayed in response to a distance of the moving of the position.
Thereby, it has become possible to release the stress that the user feels by pushing the ten keys down many times.
Patent reference 1: Official gazette of unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-15811